First of all, it is an amusing look at the Designer As A Young Man, a man influenced by Mary Tyler Moore, the Banana Splits and Nanook of the North.

It is a look at the tempestuous nature of the artistic process: "I'm not stressed out," Mizrahi, 33, says. "I hate it when people tell me I'm stressed out."

And it is an exciting behind-the-scenes look at the little-known real world of fashion--what Robert Altman's "Ready to Wear" could only hope to be.

It's also very, very honest.

Which makes "Unzipped" very, very interesting.

I'm speaking of the eerily symbiotic relationship between fashion designers--who create the clothes--and the fashion magazine editors who, as journalists, "objectively" judge the clothes for their readers.

Check out Vogue fashion director Candy Pratts as she checks out Mizrahi's Fall '94 collection as a work in progress. "I like stronger color," Pratts announces. "And I'm not fond of plaids." We'll never know what else she's not fond of, because she then barks, "Turn the camera off."

Check out Polly Mellon, creative director of Allure, as she and Isaac snuggle in the back of a limo. She offers pithy advice: "Fussy. Fiiii-nished." And then: "I've just been to a show," she intones. "Be caaaaareful. Maaakeup."

Check out Elle's fashion staff as they traipse through Isaac's showroom for a preview of Mizrahi's collection. Meanwhile, the little people of fashion journalism--newspaper reporters--have to wait for the runway show.

And here, dear children, is where the lesson lies.

Ever wonder why so many designers magically tap into the same trends season after season? Are they tuned in to some major psychic fashion vibe? Or is it, as one young designer told me, "If Vogue or Bazaar calls me and says they're thinking of doing a story on pea coats, I'll tell them, `I've just finished working on the perfect pea coat'--even if I never thought about pea coats."

Or how about the creative director of Harper's Bazaar, who also owns a design agency with Calvin Klein and Hugo Boss as clients? And what about the fashion editors who also work as fashion stylists at runway shows of the designers they cover?

A suggestion: Let's call a spade a spade. There's a big difference between journalism and advocacy. Fashion magazines sell fantasy, not facts.